Lily is back
by TragediesPainfulKiss
Summary: She wasn't standing before him. No. Not that cheeky little Lion. Not with that flaming red hair and not with those damned enrapturing emerald eyes. She wasn't staring back at him, eyes filled with nervous anticipation. No, there was no fear in her emerald eyes because she simply was NOT standing there in the Burrow. Staring at him. Tears in those damned eyes. Tired eyes


She wasn't standing before him. No. Not that cheeky little Lion. Not with that flaming red hair and not with those damned enrapturing emerald eyes. She wasn't staring back at him, eyes filled with nervous anticipation. No, there was no fear in her emerald eyes because she simply was NOT standing there in the Burrow. Staring at him. Tears in those damned eyes. Tired eyes, filled with emotions. She had not come back from the dead...it was not possible. This was a joke. A sick sick sick joke played by Sirius and Remus and James. James- who really wasn't standing there glaring either. He had to give credit to Sirius and Remus though, they really were playing their part well. Everyone was. All to play this twisted joke at his expense. Were the Weasley twins really this clever to pull something of this magnitude off? And were they really so brave as to pull this on him. Right now, Severus was ready to snap. He was going to kill everyone and everything. His rampage would make Voldemort's reign of terror look benign.

"Whoever's damn plan this was is going to be sorry!" Severus lost it, he could feel his face skip from white straight to purple with no red in between. "I'll make suffering a fucking pleasure for you!"

"Sever-" Molly began, hugging Harry between herself and Lily.

"This is not funny! Who the hell set this up!?" He had his wand out now, and his rage was so intense even Sirius looked terrified.

"It's not a joke you git!" Potter (James) spits, oddly opting not to stand beside his wife- thus ruining the authenticity of this prank. Lily wasn't even wearing that damned gaudy diamond ring that was ridiculously huge. A fact he only noticed as her fingers trembled as they touched her heart.

"Severus..." Even Albus seemed fearful of him and Severus couldn't believe he was in on this sick joke. "You need to try and stay calm. I am not going to ask you to calm down completely, because that would be completely irresponsible. But we've all been hit with some very complex news and you need to hear it as well."

He was not going to listen to this foolery. He couldn't. he wasn't even able to look away from the imposter Lily...how could he turn and listen? He was focusing on the little scar on her left hand. A wound she had received defending him. He was staring at the little golden necklace with an enhanced orb as it focal point. The jewel he had gotten for her 14th birthday...They had been so careful with this ruse. From the way she held herself aloof and loose, to the way she bit her bottom lip when nervous.

Without thinking he held his arms out, robotically. The imposter hesitated for a moment before taking the bait. Once she was in his arms, his anger grew. How had they managed to make this faker feel exactly like her? To smell like her? He tightened his grip- to a point that it was painful and glared into her eyes. He could see her in there. How had they done that?

"Sev...it's me." She whispered, no fear in her eyes. Brave as the person she was pretending to be. "Ask me anything...read my mind..." She pleaded. "veritserum."

But he didn't raise his wand. He needn't. The moment she had whispered for him to give her the truth potion. No one else but she would trust him with that. He loosened his grip, but still held her. Waiting to awake from this dream. He was only slightly caught off guard when she held him back, sobs shaking her frail body.

"How?" He managed, tightening his fingers around the still vibrant hair. "Why?"

"We ran...we fooled him..." Lily's voice was small, and not because she had buried herself in his robes. That was when the anger returned...more fierce.

"Your son has been living in a hell-hole for these past years...and every summer he has had to return to Petunia and what's his face." His voice was not loud, but even he could feel the ice as he pushed her gently back. "You abandoned the child to misery." The accusation was deadly in tone.

"You shut your mouth about him!" James spat, face turning red. "What the hell do you even care?"

"Stop! This isn't the time-" Lily's pleas went ignored.

"What do you care!? Are you aware the boy was just dropped off on a damned doorstep?! That he's been abused for most his damned life while you two were off doing who know's what?! You could have at least let him know his damned parents were alive!" Severus cut James off before he could speak. "Do you have any idea what that can do to a child! It's a fucking wonder he didn't accept Voldemort's offer to join him!"

"What?!" This was clearly Lily's first time of hearing this and she immediately wrapped Harry in a bear-hug. "You sent him to Petunia's?" Her face was an awful shade of red as she glared at Albus. "Her!?"

"Where have you been?" Severus demanded. "Where have you been running? Hiding?"

"It's nothing to do with you." Potter hissed, making his son push into his mother even closer.

"It is to do with me, Potter." Severus sneered. "I've done a lot for your child...All because you two were dead and couldn't do it yourself. All to fulfill some fucking oath for your wife! I've been to hell and back keeping that kid alive! The very least you could have done was let me know you were alive Lily!" He was glaring at her now. "Do you know how badly it destroyed me when I thought you died?! Do you know how fucked up I've been! It destroyed me! I've been carrying around all this guilt..all this blame...For fucks sake..." He broke off shaking his head. For once he let his hurt show.

"You were already a death eater by the time you left school." Potter accused.

"I went to hell and back to get in the DAMN INNER-CIRCLE of the death-eaters to protect your son. Do you think that was easy?! Countless hexes and curses...I've SOLD my own soul! I've damned myself so I could protect your kid. I had a chance to leave the ranks! To start over! You don't think I wanted too? But no! I couldn't!" Severus was glaring at Lily again. "I can get over everything you've done to me...but how can a mother do this? You've subjected the kid to countless horrors that could have been avoided...what the fuck, Lily?!"

"I would never do that to him!" She screamed, tears falling as everyone stared in shock at this development. "And you know that! How dare you!?" She accused, shaking with sobs. "How fucking dare you?!" She turned her angry green eyes to Albus. "And how dare you? What were you thinking?!" She screamed. "I had dozens of places for him to go? Why my sisters!? You know damned well where I wanted him to go!"

"Those dozens died Lily...or were in hiding themselves- somewhere I couldn't find them." Albus said kindly, seeming afraid to step on any toes.

"And what about-"

She was cut off by James vehemently screaming. "I wouldn't sign for it! There was no way he was going there!"

"So you'd have rather had him abused?!" Lily shot back.

"You know what...Yeah." James snapped, and that was when Severus saw the half-empty bottle of firewhiskey in his hand. "I would."

"James!" Both Sirius and Lily gasped, and Harry looked even closer to tears at the vicious retort.

"How much have you had to drink?" Sirius yelled, attempting to yank the alcohol from his fist. "What the hell is wrong with you, Prongs?" The anamagi looked at Harry. "He didn't mean that, Harry. He's been drinking is all."

"Shut up, Padfoot. Don't tell me what I mean. And don't touch me." He hissed, raising a hand to the stunned Sirius.

"You're upsetting the children!" Lily hissed, looking ready to throttle her husband. "Especially ours!"

"Who gives a fuck!" He yelled, throwing the bottle at her feet. "I'm not even sure the brat is mine!"

"Dad..." As the bottle exploded at Harry's feet he finally looked up from his mother's embrace. "What's wrong...?"

"Enough!" Molly's had finally had enough and she was the only one who could effectively silence a whole room. She took a deep breath and looked up from where she had been holding Ginny and Harry. "I've prepared a nice dinner for this occasion...now, we are all going to sit and be civil."

"And if anyone has another outburst so help me..." Arthur threatened, earning several looks of alarm as the normally harmless man looked threatening.

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Harry was still completely shaken up but allowed his Mum too lead him to a table and sit him close beside her. Molly took the other side and he was effectively sandwiched between two mothers.

"James! Get in here! Now!" Arthur's yell understandably scared all in the room who knew his usual nature, and it even seemed to have an effect on his father as he was all but dragged in by a still hurt looking Sirius.

Snape had been preparing to leave when both Molly and his Mum shot him a deadly glare.

"I said all." Molly clarified, glaring so intensely Snape actually sat. "No more yelling." She added, looking tenderly down at Harry. "We're all stressed out."

Harry wanted to reply that he was more than stressed out at the moment but kept his mouth shut, and settled on shoveling potatoes in his mouth. He had a lot on his mind and he couldn't even look up at Snape. Why the hell had Snape jumped to his defense like that? And so vehemently? And why on earth would he have done all the things he claimed to have done? It made no sense. But nothing made sense now. His Mother and father were back...and even if that was completely senseless he'd happily allow it to remain that way, so long as it meant they stayed.

"I will never leave you again." His mother whispered, kissing his mop of hair- almost as if she had read his mind. "Never. I love you."

"Mum...what happened?"

At the question everyone stopped what they were doing, not that anyone was really eating to start with.

"A few days before Voldemort came..." Lily took a deep breath, "Severus stopped by like usual...Sirius and James had taken the invisibility cloak out to go out for a bit...and Severus came by." She repeated, looking up to stare across the table at Snape who refused to look up. "And I thought it was just going to be another visit...but he told me what was going to happen. When James came back that night I warned him..but he was just so angry about the fact that I had been having Severus over...He refused to believe it. Said it was clearly a trap."

"And who could blame me?" His father hissed, his face turning purple. "He was a death-eater."

"That death-eater came back three days later and saved our lives!" His mother shot back. "Without him aiming that spell at Voldemort you wouldn't be alive today to bitch about it!"

"You had another man in my house! MY house! You were snogging around behind my back!" His father turned an angry finger at Remus. "And you knew something was up! You may not have known what, but you knew!"

"Wait! What spell?" Albus asked, looking at Severus who refused to make eye contact. "It was just enough time for them to run...but the recoil was so strong...when I woke up I thought it hadn't worked...there...there was bodies...and a baby...I left just before the auror's arrived..."

"That was where the second ward came from..." Albus's eyes lit up as he clearly put two and two together in his mind. "You loved Lily enough that a second ward was added to her child..."

Snape just nodded, finally looking up into his mother's eyes. "Always." He whispered.

"Always." She repeated, a look of intense love in her eyes. "I can never repay you."

"I never expected you too."

Harry was still stunned silent as his mother jumped up from the table and all but flung herself into Snape's arms, sobbing wildly and incoherent words. "After..all...this...time." She wailed, sitting on Snapes lap and crying openly into his shoulder.

"Always..." Snape muttered. "I said always."

"I'm sorry..." Lily sobbed, looking up into his eyes. "Fifth year...I should have forgiven you...It should have been you...It was always you..."

"We can't..." Snape shook his head, despair on his face. "Lily...you're married..."

"No. She's not." James spat, jumping up to spit at his wife. "We're as good as divorced."

"What!?" Harry yelled. He had only just gotten his parents back...only to have them drop the news that they were no longer really together. Beside him Molly hugged him tightly.

"This isn't the time nor the way to announce such news!" Molly scolded, looking mostly at Harry's dad. "You've been hugging that bottle all day! Why not come at give your son a hug?"

Harry was ashamed, but when his father came and wrapped his arms around him he felt more afraid than anything. He hadn't felt the warmth he had when his mother hugged him. This felt forced and it cut at him deeply. He smelled of alcohol which reminded him of Vernon..which reminded him of nothing good.

"Why are you divorcing?" He asked, desperate to put holes in their plan. "You haven't had enough time to think this through."

"We've been as good as divorced for years." His father spat, taking another swig for another bottle of firewhiskey he had managed to produce. "She's a cheating whore."

"Dad!" Harry gasped, pulling away from him.

"You beat me!" His mother screamed. "You'd sneak out at night and come home smelling of cheap perfume!" Her face was red but she stayed still in Snapes lap. "I would've waited to divorce until after we were free...but I couldn't wait much longer than a few months. You are a horrible husband, and a horrible man."

"Mum!" Harry gasped.

"Shut your mouth! You can't talk to me like that! I'm a highly esteemed member of society!"

"Highly-esteemed!? Everyone thinks you're dead. And when they learn about how you treated me you can kiss that esteem goodbye!" His mother stood up now. "Good gracious...you are STILL an arrogant toe-rag!"

"You'll shut your mouth..." His father muttered, actually stepping toward his mother with a raised arm. "So help me-"

"What the hell is going on!?" Harry spat, shocked at how this had gone down-hill. Shouldn't this have been a happy occurrence? He had dreamed of his parents really being alive...hadn't expected this though. This...chaos.

"Quite boy!"

And that was when Harry had ran out. For his father, the man he had always pictured as kind and loving, to scream at him like that...it was all too much.

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"We have to go after him!" Lily insisted, looking flustered as her only child ran off into the darkening night.

"He probably needs some space...maybe its better if hes gone while you two try and work this out." Remus, as always, was being perfectly reasonable.

"But he's so upset." Lily insisted, looking close to sobbing again.

Severus put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Give him an hour...if he's not back by than..."

"Already making your moves..." James sneered.

"I'm not making any moves. I'm comforting a friend whose husband doesn't seem able too."

"Comfort..." James snorted, a derisive look in his eyes.

"What is wrong with you Prongs!?" Sirius finally exploded. "You're son just took off into the night! And you're sitting here drinking! Don't you care?"

Severus didn't blame the man. Sirius had been run through the wringer protecting Harry, naturally he had developed father feels toward the boy. And now, for Sirius too see James just sitting and not excited about seeing his son, set him off. But James's only reply was a shrug and a sip from the bottle he held. Finally Sirius's temper got to him, with extreme force he knocked the glass to the floor. "DId you hit her?" He asked.

"Sirius! You just spilled my drink."

"I'll replenish it." Sirius spat dryly. "Now answer me. Did you hit her?" He gestured over to where Severus held Lily close to him for protection. He did not trust Potter.

"When she got out of line." James had the nerve to give his friend a sheepish grin. "You know how women get."

The only thing keeping Severus from skinning Potter alive was the fact that Lily was still overwhelmed and the fact that children were present. And, if he were to be honest, Sirius beat him to it. He had punched James out so quickly that nobody knew what was happening, or had time to react, before the drunken man thudded to the floor.

"What?!" The anamagi spat at the stares.

"Too be honest, mate," Remus said standing to pat his shoulder, "I was about ready to do the same."

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Severus had to hand it to Harry. He certainly knew how not to be found. Mostly everyone was out looking for him, for it had been an hour already, only to be frustrated when they couldn't locate the upset teenager. But Severus knew exactly how he was feeling. He had done his own share of running from his father. And as his eyes took in the area around him, he knew exactly where Harry was. Smirking inwardly at Harry's ingenuity (perhaps he had underestimated the boy) he lifted his hands up and grasped a large branch. Potter was in the largest tree nearby on the highest branch. Severus easily made it up the tree, having done so many times too much higher trees in his past. He made it up quietly, undetected by Harry until he sat beside him. Both of them being blanketed by the leaves.

"What are you doing here? How'd you find me?" Harry asked, his eyes suspiciously red.

"I felt like climbing." Severus said sarcastically.

"What was my Mum talking about...?"

"Harry," That was the first time he had called him by his first name, surprising them both, "Maybe you and your mother would rather have that conversation yourselves."

"Why are you being nice to me?" Harry asked, still not looking at him. "Is it because of my mum?"

The first question caught him off-guard. Severus should've been nicer to Harry all along. He had wanted to. He had wanted to coddle the boy almost as much as he coddled Draco. But he couldn't...not with so many eyes would have been deadly. And it would have hurt too much. It had been bad enough having to look at him...his eyes. And Harry would've already hated him...if not at first encounter then the moment Sirius had a chance to have Harry alone. He would not lose anyone ever again...because never again would he claim someone as his own. Except Draco...Draco had been his from the moment he had held the little blonde baby.

"Because it's not too late to do what I should have done. It's not too late to repent."

"To do what?" Harry asked, confusion on his face.

"I should have been nice to you...or at least civil." Severus didn't look at the boy either, he stared off like he did. "But I couldn't. I'm sorry."

"You couldn't?" Harry scoffed, in a very Slytherin manner. "You don't know how to be nice?"

"It's hard to be nice when you're not happy, Harry." Severus said calmly, seeing understanding light up in Harry's eyes. "I'm going to leave." He stood up on the branch, but before leaving he gave Harry a look. "Your mother is near hysterics. Go to her." He used his most extreme strict voice, leaving no room for argument.

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Harry had waited until Snape had been gone for a good few minutes before he climbed down. Making his way back to the burrow he couldn't help but long for answers. He had thought his life had been complicated before...but now it was almost unbearably so. For once in his life couldn't something turn his world around in a good way? Why did it always seem to work in reverse?

"Harry!" His thoughts were cut off when his Mother caught him from behind, hugging him tight enough to squeeze the breath from him. "Don't do that to me...not when I just got you back again."


End file.
